EN
The present paper consists of two parts, in which dealing with the functions of institutions the author is mainly looking for the answer to the question, at a highly abstract level of analysis, how the institutions determine the actions of individuals and thereby phenomena which can be interpreted as summaries, systems and consequences of actions. In the first part of the paper, he makes a distinction between the elementary functions of institutions, and outline the main features of the functions of institutions concerning actions. Then he makes a distinction between the normative and positive functions of institutions, and emphasize that the prevalence of normative functions corresponds to certain institutions and that the prevalence of positive functions also theoretically corresponds to the social institutions which are present in the so-called sphere of social life. In the second part of the paper, to be published in the next issue of this periodical, the author first points out that the distinction between the normative and positive functions is essential, particularly because the positive functions of institutions correspond to the institutional norms only contingently, thus they may be functions corresponding to the institutional norms, or differing from them. After that a distinction is made between the functions of institutions corresponding to explicit intentions, those corresponding to hidden intentions, and non-intended ones. Finally, he deals with the issue that on the one hand the distinction between the normative and positive functions of institutions, and on the other hand, the intended and non-intended functions of institutions do not correspond to each other, but there are certain connections between these typical functions.